Somalia won’t accept Israeli presence ‘under any circumstances’: President

In exclusive Al Jazeera interview, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud says attempts to pull Somalia into Middle East crises won’t succeed.

Somalia won’t accept Israeli presence ‘under any circumstances’, says president

Somalia will not accept Israeli presence in the country “under any circumstances” and will resist any attempts to be pulled into the Middle East’s crises, its President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud tells Al Jazeera.

Speaking in an exclusive interview, Mohamud said that Israel was planning to establish a naval base in Berbera and use the city’s airport, adding that its real aim was to get closer to the Gulf states and Iran.

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Berbera is a port city on the Gulf of Aden coast in Somaliland – the self-declared republic in northwestern Somalia that Israel recognised last year, but which is claimed by Mogadishu.

Berbera faces Yemen across the water near the strategic Bab al-Mandeb strait. The Iran-aligned Houthis have previously enforced a blockade on Israel-linked ships in the area.

“We will overcome the challenges posed to our country by Israeli moves,” Mohamud said in his wide-ranging interview.

He added that the Israeli plans fall under the “ Greater Israel ” project – referring to a term for various proposals, often rooted in biblical interpretations, for Israeli control over territory beyond its current borders. Some versions extend from the Nile to the Euphrates.

Israel has not adopted it as official policy, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an August 2025 interview that he felt connected to the vision, prompting condemnation from Arab governments.

The Somali president described Israel as a “destabilising force” that does not abide by international law.

He also criticised Tel Aviv’s recognition of Somaliland in December.

No country other than Israel recognises Somaliland, while the region’s own residents are completely opposed to an Israeli presence, Mohamud said.

Somaliland declared independence from Somalia in 1991 and has governed itself independently for more than three decades. But it had not secured recognition from any United Nations member state until Israel’s move.

Fight against armed groups

The Somali president told Al Jazeera the United States remains his country’s strongest partner in the fight against “terrorism”, and added that al-Shabab has no presence in the major cities, leaving no possibility of the group taking control in Somalia.

Al-Shabab is a Somali armed group that emerged from the Islamic Courts Union in the mid-2000s and pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda in 2012. It has fought Somalia’s federal government for years, holds territory in parts of southern and central Somalia, and has carried out deadly attacks, including in Mogadishu and in neighbouring Kenya.

Regarding the East Africa region, Mohamud said Somalia’s relations with neighbouring Ethiopia are good, and Mogadishu does not object to Addis Ababa gaining access to the sea through a joint agreement to use Somali ports for its economic interests.

Ethiopia has been landlocked since Eritrea became independent in 1993 and relies largely on Djibouti’s ports for trade. In January 2024, Addis Ababa signed a memorandum of understanding with Somaliland on sea access, which Somalia condemned as a violation of its sovereignty. Somalia and Ethiopia later agreed to ease tensions.

Houthis ‘destabilising’ region

Mohamud also accused Yemen’s Houthis of “destabilising the region” and disrupting navigation in the Bab al-Mandeb strait.

His comments come as the group attempts to build on its lightning offensive that captured the country’s Red Sea coast last month.

Thus far, Yemeni government forces have been able to hold their positions on the front lines and even claimed to have inflicted heavy losses against the Houthis.

The Houthis have also intensified their attacks on Saudi Arabia, but the kingdom’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) has promised not to compromise on its security, saying the Yemeni rebels chose “chaos and destruction, threatening the Yemeni people and the region”.

The full interview with President Mohamud will be broadcast on Al Jazeera Arabic on Sunday.

在半岛电视台独家采访中，总统哈桑·谢赫·穆罕默德表示，将索马里拖入中东危机的企图不会成功。

索马里总统表示，索马里“在任何情况下”都不会接受以色列的存在。

索马里总统哈桑·谢赫·马哈茂德告诉半岛电视台，索马里“在任何情况下”都不会接受以色列在该国的存在，并将抵制任何试图将索马里卷入中东危机的企图。

穆罕默德在接受独家采访时表示，以色列计划在柏培拉建立一个海军基地并使用该市的机场，他还补充说，以色列的真正目的是拉近与海湾国家和伊朗的距离。

以色列选举双重标准（共3条，第1条）：阿拉伯领导人被迫下台，极右翼却被清除。

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柏培拉是索马里兰亚丁湾沿岸的一个港口城市。索马里兰是索马里西北部一个自行宣布成立的共和国，以色列去年承认了它，但摩加迪沙声称对其拥有主权。

柏培拉隔海相望也门，靠近具有战略意义的曼德海峡。此前，与伊朗结盟的胡塞武装曾封锁该地区与以色列有关的船只。

“我们将克服以色列的举动给我国带来的挑战，”穆罕默德在一次内容广泛的采访中说道。

他补充说，以色列的这些计划属于“大以色列”计划的范畴——“大以色列”一词涵盖了各种旨在控制以色列现有边界以外领土的提议，这些提议通常基于对《圣经》的解读。有些版本甚至将范围从尼罗河延伸到幼发拉底河。

以色列尚未将其作为官方政策，但总理本雅明·内塔尼亚胡在 2025 年 8 月的一次采访中表示，他与这一愿景有共鸣，这引起了阿拉伯国家的谴责。

索马里总统称以色列是“破坏稳定的力量”，不遵守国际法。

他还批评了特拉维夫在12月承认索马里兰的决定。

穆罕默德说，除了以色列之外，没有其他国家承认索马里兰，而该地区的居民也完全反对以色列的存在。

索马里兰于1991年宣布脱离索马里独立，并已独立治理三十余年。但在以色列采取行动之前，它一直未获得任何联合国成员国的承认。

打击武装团体

索马里总统告诉半岛电视台，美国仍然是索马里打击“恐怖主义”的最强伙伴，并补充说，青年党在主要城市没有势力，因此该组织不可能控制索马里。

索马里青年党是一个索马里武装组织，于 2000 年代中期从伊斯兰法院联盟中分离出来，并于 2012 年宣誓效忠基地组织。多年来，该组织一直与索马里联邦政府作战，控制着索马里南部和中部部分地区，并发动了致命袭击，包括在摩加迪沙和邻国肯尼亚的袭击。

关于东非地区，穆罕默德表示，索马里与邻国埃塞俄比亚的关系良好，摩加迪沙不反对亚的斯亚贝巴通过一项联合协议获得出海口，利用索马里港口为自身经济利益服务。

自1993年厄立特里亚独立以来，埃塞俄比亚一直是内陆国家，其贸易主要依赖吉布提的港口。2024年1月，亚的斯亚贝巴与索马里兰签署了一份关于海上通道的谅解备忘录，索马里谴责该备忘录侵犯了其主权。索马里和埃塞俄比亚后来同意缓和紧张局势。

胡塞武装“破坏”地区稳定

穆罕默德还指责也门胡塞武装“破坏地区稳定”并扰乱曼德海峡的航行。

他的这番言论正值该组织试图巩固其上个月占领该国红海沿岸的闪电攻势之际。

到目前为止，也门政府军已经能够守住前线阵地，甚至声称已经给胡塞武装造成了重大损失。

胡塞武装也加大了对沙特阿拉伯的袭击力度，但沙特王储穆罕默德·本·萨勒曼（MBS）承诺不会在安全问题上妥协，并表示也门叛军选择了“混乱和破坏，威胁也门人民和该地区”。

穆罕默德总统的完整采访将于周日在半岛电视台阿拉伯语频道播出。